After learning that I am not alone, I found friendship. This is the easy one to write, because it is the one I have
written before. I started expressing my gratitude for the friendships I had
gained out of loss and infertility over a decade ago. First came loss. I met and talked to and
was advised by and, perhaps most importantly, grieved with some wonderful women
on-line, after our ectopic pregnancies. Wise women, women with compassion, and women with wonderful humour,
they helped me through the hardest times of my life. And I hope with all my heart that I helped them too. As one of these friends
said, we got to know each other from the inside out; raw, hurting, with open wounds. Friendships that first developed
on a message board, moved to more informal online chatting, and then blossomed in
real
life.
Some
of my on-line friendships have lasted 12 years. We chat on-line regularly, even though our lives have changed. Most
importantly, we know that whenever we need to get something off our chest,
whenever we are going through something tough, the others will be there for us
- and vice versa.
Some friendships, including my blogging friendships, the
relationships I am building here, are more recent. The thing I have learned is
that these friendships are real, whether we have met or not. I look forward to nurturing them for years to
come.
Here’s a selection of posts where I have expressed my
gratitude for the friendships that have come as a result of loss and
infertility and a No Kidding life.
Finally, I thank you for your friendship, and for the
friendships you develop with others in this community. They are important. And they are real.
So true!
ReplyDeleteHugs from Europe!
Hear, hear! I totally believe in cyber friendship being real even though we haven't met. I have so many of them - some of which I have met in life and the rest...well, I hope I get to meet them later in life. I think the best proof of cyber friendship being real for me is my husband he he...
ReplyDeleteAnd Mali, you have helped me a lot and made a difference in my life, so THANK YOU. You've inspired me in many ways, as well, so I'm glad we "met". :-)
I don't know where I'd be without the friends I've made online these past 16 years. :) You included. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat Loribeth said!
ReplyDeletegreat quote! I have been making "Internet Friends" since 2000 from blogging. Some of those people I've met in person and are extremely close friends. Definitely real friends :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for framing the special gift of Internet friends this way. Resonates for me, too!
ReplyDeleteI love this. I am also grateful for the friendship through the internet communities and support communities, and how some of these "internet friendships" have outlasted others! I am so glad to have connected with you recently. I guess I missed that part about the ectopic pregnancy--I was unfortunate enough to experience one of those, too, and it's a strange experience on so many levels. Thank you for sharing all that you do, I love reading your writing.
ReplyDeleteReally I am very impressed with this post. Just awesome... I haven’t any word to appreciate this post.
ReplyDeleteSharron Wooten
I absolutely loved reading this heartfelt blog post about the profound impact of friendship, especially in the midst of the challenging journey of infertility. The way you've described the unwavering support and understanding between friends is truly touching.
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